Dimensional Descent

Just as the whip was about to connect, a wild distortion formed.

Before the young man could react, the tip of his whip, which had just been moments away from crushing what was left of Eliot's manhood, suddenly appeared before his face.

BANG!

The young man's face distorted, his jaw shattered and his tongue nearly being cut in two.

He skid along the ground, his body shooting off into the distance.

Before he even landed, the humiliation had welled up in his heart. He had actually been slapped by his own weapon, in the history of the Void Palace, this was maybe the first time such a thing had happened.

He crashed into the ground, holding his jaw as his body was shaken by pain. If it wasn't for his relative immunity to lightning, the effects would have been even more drastic than it was here and now. He might have even lost his life.

At that moment, another member of the Faction came rushing over, clutching a spatial ring in their hands. Seeing such a scene, they didn't even hesitate. They shot forward, ignoring the fallen youth and appearing at the edge of Leonel's formation.

The spatial ring they were clutching flashed, revealing the form of a chain that snaked outward for hundreds of meters. Everywhere it passed, everything would be crushed to pieces.

The youth grabbed onto the end of the chain with two hands, beads of sweat falling down their brows as they pulled hard.

The chain whipped and writhed, eventually closing in around Leonel's formation like a winding tornado. Except this tornado was formed of chains and not wind.

The sound of shattering glass and earth resounded, the formation Leonel had drawn into the ground splintering and splitting as cracks spread along its form.

The chain squeezed forward, wrapping around the base of Eliot's stake and crushing it to pieces.

Eliot fell, his body still limp. He had long since forced himself into a state of unconsciousness. The only good thing about Leonel's formation was that it decreased the concentration of Anarchic Force a small measure, making it just a bit more bearable, just enough for him to close his eyes.

But, with a sudden jolt, he was awoken and a familiar pain shot through his body. He cried out as he crashed to the ground.

The youth that had saved him wrestled with the chain whip before remembering that the spatial ring was specially designed for just this moment. After pouring their Force into the ring, the chain whip let out a roar before it was unceremoniously pulled back, saving Eliot from the fate of being crushed.

The members of the Green Thread Faction rushed forward, however those with a more… purposeful light in their eyes were faster, their command Treanna had given them ringing in their ears. Their only thoughts were of finding a chance to do things covertly. This was an even better opportunity than the lightning whip youth had managed to get.

With things like this, there wouldn't even be a question. How could anyone this Eliot's own faction would castrate him?

Unfortunately… It wasn't meant to be.

At that moment, a powerful aura descended from the skies. In a single step, Cornelius had crossed the large distance, appearing above Eliot.

A gentle wind pushed everyone out of the way as he appeared before Eliot's writhing body.

He placed a palm upon the latter's head, causing the latter to fall into another deep sleep before checking his body.

'He really did only castrate a single testicle…'

Cornelius looked around. When his gaze met that of the youth, they looked away with guilty-ridden expressions. As a man who had experienced too much, Cornelius realized that he had really made it just in time. Unfortunately, there was no proof of any wrongdoing so he could only let things slide.

Cornelius shook his head. 'Just like his father, he refuses to explain anything even when people are helping him. This brat really will be my undoing.'

Cornelius didn't really have a choice. He had been tasked by the Void Elders to make sure that Leonel didn't cause too much upheaval, and he understood Velasco's temper quite well.

If Leonel really did something wrong, Velasco likely wouldn't protect him. While part of the reason Cornelius was willing to mete out punishment to Leonel was because of his own sense of justice, another reason was that he knew that no one would blame him, including Velasco himself.

Others might think that Velasco was like a looming threat constantly protecting Leonel's back, but Cornelius knew that Velasco was a man who didn't even lift a finger to bring his own brother out of a pit of despair, let alone his own son. That was just the kind of man he was.

As long as things were done in an upright matter, he wouldn't even frown. However, if he sniffed even the slightest hint of subterfuge…

Well, Rosen, who had lost his arm, was a prime example of the consequences.

"This is good, the child hasn't been castrated, take him to be treated."

With Cornelius having said this, the youths knew that their plans would no longer work. Nodding respectfully, they picked Eliot up and rushed away.

Cornelius sighed. 'Sometimes I wonder if this is the right way to raise the youths. By the time they're old enough to make real decisions, these sorts of grudges won't be able to be erased.'

Cornelius shook his head. Clasping his hands behind his back, he vanished once more. With all the storms brewing around Leonel now, he should take some time to himself now, because he probably wouldn't get any more for a while into the future.

…

Leonel and Aina blazed through the Zones one after another and soon news of their exploits began to spread. Matched with Leonel's battle with Jova and Micarth, this seemed to propel them into a different sort of spotlight entirely.

Soon, the pair only had their hardest mission remaining and a new fire had been lit beneath the Void Palace Galaxy Ranked disciples.

A calculative light flashed in Leonel's eyes as he thought of how he would best take advantage of this situation.